Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) director
Redzuan Othman has been asked to resign from his position as the survey
body's director.

Also his tenure as dean of the Arts and Social Science Faculty in the university, which expires today, was not renewed.

The unversity opted not to renew his position, citing his "retirement as professor" as the reason.

Former deputy higher education minister Saifuddin Abdullah (right) told Malaysiakini that
he also resigned today as a senior research fellow in UM as a sign of
protest over what had happened to Redzuan, whose research results did
not often favour the ruling BN government.

"A couple of months back, the current vice-chancellor of UM was
approached by some Education Ministry officers who advised that Redzuan
should resign. He took it in stride," Saifuddin said.

Saifuddin said that he felt saddened at what had happened, and said
resigning was the least he could do as he is no longer with the
government.

“Unfortunately, I am not in a position to help, so I resigned as a sign of protest and to show my solidarity,” Saifuddin said.

The former Umno supreme council member and Temerloh MP, who is currently
the CEO of the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM), said that his
fellowship in UM was granted under the previous vice-chancellor and not
the current one.

Redzuan and Umcedel shot to popularity when Prime Minister Najib Abdul
Razak dismissed a survey finding just before the 2013 general election,
which found that Pakatan Rakyat’s manifesto has greater traction than
BN’s manifesto.

Meanwhile, Malaysiakini has contacted the office of
vice-chancellor Mohd Amin, who is in charge of the university's academic
and international matters, and is awaiting for his reply.

A spokesperson from Mohd Amin's office said he was away from the campus for a meeting and could not respond at the moment.- mk

Muhyiddin should resign, not Redzuan or Saifuddin...

It is Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who should resign from his
post and not Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections
(Umcedel) director Redzuan Othman or the university's senior research
fellow Saifuddin Abdullah, said DAP.

Lim
Kit Siang in a statement today said Muhyiddin has had nothing to show
in his portfolio, apart from the "disgraceful" interference of the
Education Ministry officials that has led to Redzuan's (left) resignation.

"What has Muhyiddin to show in more than a year as the powerful Education Minister gobbling up the former Ministry of Higher Education,
in the field of tertiary education apart from the latest disgraceful
episode of interference with and violation of academic freedom resulting
in the resignations of Redzuan and Saifuddin from the University of
Malaya?" Lim asked.

In a separate statement, DAP's Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said that it was
unfair to target Redzuan just because the survey results in the past
are not seen to be favourable to BN.

Among others, Redzuan and his team accurately predicted that Pakatan would win the popular vote in the 13th general election.

"Academicians should not be punished for pursuing legitimate academic research
including in the field of politics and political science even if the
results do not seem to be favourable to the ruling party," Ong said.

DAP's Mengkibol assemblyperson Tan Hong Pin also showed support for
Redzuan, saying that the move by the Education Ministry was "proof" that
BN had "killed off academic freedom altogether."

"Even though the University and University Colleges
Act (UUCA) has been amended, I see that the principle and policy that
stifles the intellectuality of students and academicians in universities
have not changed," he said.- mk

“I do…” says Khalid Ibrahim. His comrades in PKR think otherwise. DAP is
not too hot on him either. Nor is PAS, although it seems numero uno Hadi Awang has not given the thumbs down yet.

PKR even went to the extent of concocting the 'Kajang Move' to ease
Khalid out by trying to bring in Pakatan 'de facto' leader Anwar Ibrahim
through what turned out to be a botched by-election.

Who would want to be the Selangor Menteri Besar right now with all your
comrades slamming you right left and centre? Nevertheless, there are
stark questions the MB bashers need to ask themselves, namely: How do
the Pakatan parties choose their MB?

How does a menteri besar who has all along been portrayed by his
comrades as very competent and an outstanding administrator suddenly be
publicly lambasted as a liability to PKR?

On what basis did party perceptions of him change so radically?

Has Khalid Ibrahim suddenly turned rogue and if so, in what specific way?

And if he did turn rogue, when did this happen post‑2013, for him to be reappointed MB?

I am no fan of Khalid. I have consistently critiqued his policies on
free water, highways development, hefty pay increase for state assembly
representatives and lack of initiatives to tackle many pressing
infrastructural, environmental and social problems in Selangor.

Nevertheless, I find it distasteful and perplexing that his Pakatan
comrades have suddenly decided to dump him and to do so is such a rude
manner, with not an iota of 'sopan santun' (manners).

Questions for Pakatan leaders

These are questions they might want to ask themselves:

How did they choose him in the first place in 2008? Did he just happen
to be a corporate ally of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim?

Did they oppose the populist (highly irresponsible) free water policy when it was announced or did they also think it was a great way to win votes?

Did they oppose his hefty pay increase for assemblypersons when it was
first announced or was it after the uproar from the public?

Did they oppose the highways development and the violation of the state
park as soon as they were announced, or did they oppose them only after
the public protests?

Were they powerless to stop the bible seizure by the state religious department Jais?

Is there no collective leadership in the state government? If not, is a
collective approach top of today’s political agenda or does the agenda
stop at ousting Khalid?

Principled politics or realpolitik?

The cynical would interpret the anti‑Khalid move as simply realignment
within the party as a result of the balance of forces in favour of
Khalid’s rival in the party leadership race. Everyone could see how
Khalid Ibrahim’s rival and MB hopeful flexed his muscles during the GE13
candidates’ selection.

Those who have come out to attack Khalid can now see which side their PKR bread is buttered!

As for the rest of Pakatan, pinning all the Pakatan policy failures on
one man, Khalid Ibrahim, seems like a convenient attempt to absolve them
from blame when the next election comes round.

But then, what does it tell us about policy making
in PKR and Pakatan? Does one man decide all policies? Have they
forgotten their criticisms of the old BN authoritarian who ruled this
country for more than two decades?

No, PKR and Pakatan leaders cannot shrug off their responsibility so
easily by putting all the responsibility on one man. How did they allow
this state of affairs to happen? Why haven’t they put in place a
democratic mechanism to ensure such a situation does not ever arise
again?

After all, Khalid Ibrahim is not even the de facto leader of PKR or
Pakatan. The 'Kajang Move' was an unwitting admission that Anwar was not
the de facto leader of PKR or Pakatan. Since Anwar is not even the de
jure leader, he must be the de apparent leader.

Pakatan could have done with some good de facto leadership of the
coalition in the years since 2008. Unfortunately, it would appear that
the de facto PKR leader has lost his influence with PAS and DAP as a
result of his lack of leadership initiative and especially after the
September 16 (2008) fiasco.

Another cynical view
is that the adversaries of Khalid Ibrahim want to lay their hands on
the RM3 billion in state reserves for their own political purposes.
Otherwise, why are they washing their dirty linen in public?

How often do we hear leaders of these same political parties admonishing
their members for openly criticising their parties and for not solving
these problems internally?

Time to show real leadership

I dread to think of the fallout when the inevitable happens after all
the open criticism of Khalid Ibrahim by Anwar Ibrahim and the other
Pakatan leaders. This is a spectacle we don’t usually behold even among
the BN parties.

Is Khalid Ibrahim going to stay the perfect gentleman he has been through all the flak so far, or will he let rip, like all the other former partners of Anwar when his inevitable exit happens? Only time will tell…and that won’t be a pretty story for sure.

To be taken seriously, the PKR and Pakatan leaders need to show us by
what criteria they are judging Khalid and what specific credentials are
required of a Pakatan Rakyat menteri besar, i.e.

In what specific way will the replacement MB be qualified as against Khalid Ibrahim’s credentials?

Will the new MB display his or her alternative policies for the state for us all to judge?

What reforms will be set up by the state government to ensure collective
and democratic leadership and to spare us further MB bashing? - mk

The recent water disruption in Selangor just days
after the state guaranteed there would be no water rationing has left
the state government red-faced.

Answering critics over the failed guarantee, Selangor Menteri Besar
Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said it was based on the state's calculations that
showed there was sufficient water supply.

However,
he said it is Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) water distribution
capabilities, not a lack of water, which had led to the recent water
cuts.

He was responding to DAP's Petaling Jaya MP Tony Pua's statement this
morning which said the Pakatan state government and assemblypersons had
been made to look like "fools" over the water disruption just after
issuing a guarantee.

"Well, it may look bad (on us) but the state having calculated all
things, there is enough water," he told a press conference in Pulau
Indah, Port Klang this afternoon.

Earlier today Pua criticised Khalid's explanation yesterday attributing
the unexpected water cuts to Syabas, over which the state had yet to
gain full operational control in the ongoing water concessionaires
takeover exercise.

"The question is - why did the state government give the ironclad
'guarantee' if it now gives the excuse of 'no control over Syabas'?

"Did the state secure a 'guarantee' from Syabas before issuing the 'guarantee' to the public?" said Pua in his statement.

'Can't sack the sweeper'

Khalid meanwhile used an analogy of hiring a street sweeper to explain the state's dilemma.

"We say we have enough money to pay the sweepers, but suddenly people start shouting that the rubbish is not being swept.

"Then we find out the sweeper has gone on leave without informing us, what are we going to do?

"We want to sack the sweeper, but we do not have the power to do it," he said.

Khalid said he had met the National Water Services Commission (Span) to
demand for answers as Span had refused to allow the Selangor government
to step in and takeover Syabas.

"I went to see Span. I said you didn't want to give me the power, so you better tell me what's going on.

"Span has issued a statement today that Syabas is facing problems and they should be announcing it," he said.

'Judge us after takeover'

He also flayed Syabas for refusing to send its top officials to attend
the state's water briefings which are held every two days to monitor the
water supply status.

"Even
the ministry's secretary-general attended, but from Syabas the
chairperson, the chief executive officer and its senior management do
not turn up," he said.

He added the five top officials in Syabas have a combined monthly pay of RM3 million.

"This is compared to the more than 50 people whom we call for the
meeting, whose total pay does not even amount to RM150,000," he said.

He asked critics to be patient while Selangor's takeover of the state's water infrastructure is in progress.

"Say if the take over happens in July, then within six months if there
are still problems, then people can call the government stupid or
whatever.

"If within six months from the takeover there is no resolution, only
then it can it be said we have failed to do a good job," he said.- mk

Kula to file contempt proceedings against IGP...

Lawyer M Kulasegaran said he will proceed to file a case to cite
inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar for contempt of court
over a child custody case.

This is for failing to carry out several orders from the Ipoh High Court
in relation to the interfaith custody battle, where the Ipoh Barat MP
is the lawyer for the mother M Indira Gandhi.

The court orders
include a committal order, an arrest warrant for Indira’s ex-husband K
Pathmanathan @ Muhd Ridhuan Abdullah and a recovery order for the child
Prasana Diksa.

Speaking at a press conference in Ipoh today with his client, Kulasegan
chided the IGP as perhaps the only IGP in the world who would refuse to
execute a warrant of arrest, and said Indira’s predicament could easily
be solved if the Khalid (above) would just enforce the court orders.

There would be no need for the attorney-general (AG) to intervene either if the orders were enforced, he added.

“Today, after five long years of pain and sufferings and having obtained
a court order for the child to be returned to her, Indira’s agony and
trauma are not yet over due to the inaction of the IGP, the wrong advice
of the prime minister and the wrong action of the AG," he said.

"The
IGP Khalid has refused to enforce the committal order, Prime Minister
Najib Abdul Razak has advised that the case be brought to the Federal
Court, while the attorney-general (AG) Abdul Gani Patail wants to apply
to intervene in both the civil and syariah courts and suspend their
orders on the police,” he said in a statement today.

In the Indira’s case and a similar interfaith custody dispute in
Seremban, the civil courts have awarded mothers the custody of the
children overruling previous syariah court rulings that favoured the
Muslim convert fathers.

The civil courts in both cases have also issued recovery orders for the children, which the police have refused to execute.

Blaming the purportedly conflicting court orders from the judicial
systems, Khalid said the police are caught in a dilemma over which
court’s order to enforce.

“So we will not be enforcing either of the court orders. That is our stand,” he said.

This is despite the Ipoh court specifically ruling that its supercedes the syariah court's.

What of cabinet decision, Najib?

Meanwhile, Kula urged Najib to speak up on whether the cabinet still stands by its April 2009 decision on such custody disputes.

“Najib cannot keep silent on this issue. He must inform the public if
his cabinet is still committed to the 2009 cabinet decision on
unilateral conversions of minors and if so, when will the necessary law
changes be tabled in Parliament.

“If
his cabinet has abandoned the 2009 decision, the prime minister must
explain to the people the reasons for the U-turn and how the government
is going to resolve interfaith custody matters,” he said.

Citing the conflicting court orders from the judicial systems, Khalid
said the police are caught in a dilemma over which court’s order to
enforce.

“So we will not be enforcing either of the court orders. That is our stand,” he said.

In 2009, the cabinet decided in response to Indira’s plight that unilateral conversion of minors should be not be allowed, and laws will be changed to reflect that.

To date, the necessary amendments have yet to be made and the government has dragged its feet over the matter.

Bar Council president Christopher Leong yesterday mused that the amendments may have been "quietly forgotten".- mk

Gerakan has hit out at Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for failing to appreciate the sensitivities of Hindus in saying the cow's head attack on Seri Delima rep this morning was deserved.

The party's legal and human rights bureau chief Baljit Singh said that
as home minister, Zahid should cultivate peace and harmony instead of
encouraging violence.

He reminded Zahid (left)
that the victim, RSN Rayer is a practising Hindu like himself (Baljit)
and such acts are not only insensitive but mischievous, especially when
it is done a day before the Muslim's fasting month.

"The incident touches on religious sensitivities of Hindus. The home minister should be more responsible," Baljit told Malaysiakini.

"He should not be encouraging such animosity between people of different
faiths, especially when it is only a day before the fasting month
begins," Baljit added.

Baljit (right)
was referring to Zahid commenting the act of vandalism at Rayer's home
was the "price" the DAP lawmaker had to pay for uttering the words "Umno
celaka" at the Penang legislative assembly last month.

Quoted by The Rakyat Post, Zahid said Rayer should realise that his remarks had angered the public.

"As a politician, I sympathise with him. But that is the price he has to
pay for being foul-mouthed," Ahmad had said during a press conference
after launching the Certified Security Guards end of training programme
at the police academy.

A 'celaka' act

Baljit urged the police chief to act on the culprit as there is video
evidence of the incident which happened at 5.58am outside Rayer's house
in Island Park, Penang. [VIDEO | 0:34sec]

"Instead of calling for so many press conferences, please get your men
to do their job, arrest the culprit for doing this despicable act,"
Baljit said.

He described the individual who did this as indeed "celaka" (damned).

"This individual whom I just called 'celaka' can make a police report on
me saying I am seditious," Baljit said, rather furiously.

"It is simply not nice to put such anxiety in Rayer's home and family," he added.

"We may have different political affiliations but there must be some limits that we should not cross," he said.

Rayer's remarks landed in trouble with pro-Umno groups who wanted him to
apologise and retract his remark for allegedly insulting the Malays and
Islam.

Their anger led to a group of 16 barging into the Penang legislative assembly on May 21, looking for Rayer.

Fifteen were charged in the Magistrate’s Court last week for
trespassing, while Rayer who was supposed to be charged for sedition,
had his case postponed indefinitely ordered by the Attorney-General's
Chambers.

Rayer denied insulting Malays and Islam, saying he merely directed the
words at three Umno leaders who attended a rally in Seberang Jaya in
January, where banners blaming DAP for the May 13 racial riots were
displayed. - mk

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin should open the Universiti
Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campus concessions agreements for public scrutiny
if he feels critics do not "understand" its benefits.
PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli (above)
issued the challenge today after Muhyiddin brushed off Rafizi’s
criticism of the contracts for being overblown in costs and given to
cronies.

Both Muhyiddin and UiTM have not addressed Rafizi's claims of abuse,
except to harp on the fact that the contracts are a "private finance
initiative” (PFI) that will be vaguely "beneficial" to the government
university.

"I am tickled with Muhyiddin's statement that I do not understand the
concept of 'private finance initiatives' that he says will bring plenty
of benefits to UiTM.

"Therefore, to ensure I and the ordinary people don't misunderstand and
can appreciate the validity of the BN government in privatising the UiTM
campuses through PFI, I call on Muhyiddin to disclose the
concessionaire agreements... to the public," Rafizi said.

Turning the tables, the MP for Pandan said the deputy prime minister and
the cabinet were the ones who failed to understand the points he raised
over the UiTM deal.

"I
am not criticising wholesale the benefits that PFI can bring to
government projects, but that it must be done in a transparent manner
that benefits the people," he said.

Three key issues, Rafizi said, were:

1. Lack of open tenders and awarding of the contracts for all six
campuses through direct negotiations with Umno leaders, "who may later
appoint sub-contractors to complete the projects";

2. Why the rentals and annual payments to be borne by UiTM were five times more than the cost of building the campuses; and

3. What the profit margin for the concessionaires are projected to be.

Rafizi also asked whether Muhyiddin could ensure the people that the
contracts would not unfairly give the concessionaire excessive profits,
"just as what has happened with the concession contracts in the past,
involving the privatisation of water projects and highways".

He added: "If Muhyiddin won't reveal the agreements, when will I or the
people ever understand why the federal government signs agreements that
will burden UiTM in costs, to the point that it would have been cheaper
for the university to build the campuses itself." - mk

“Rugi XXL-lah kita kalau kabinet XXL itu sekadar meramaikan majlis dan menghabiskan beras saja,” katanya. The late Abdul Razak Hussein was the second prime minister of Malaysia. His son Najib Abdul Razak is the sixth.
But there is a "BIG" difference between the two.

Veteran newsman Kadir A Jasin recalled how Abdul Razak, with his walking
stick, used to visit the kampungs (villages) during his tenure as prime
minister.

"He climbed into the kampung houses to look for solutions and to bring
development. There were no grand receptions or live telecasts (of the
events)," he said in his blog.

However, he pointed out that unlike his father, Najib appears to "like it big".

"If he visits kampungs and towns, the talk is that he wants a grand
welcome," added the former News Straits Times group editor-in-chief.

Hence, Kadir is not surprised with Najib's new "XXL" cabinet line-up, which now consists of 35 full ministers and 27 deputy ministers.

"This is probably a national record. Ask someone to verify it.

"I cannot remember any previous prime minister having a cabinet of this size," he added.

According to a 2011 report, Kadir said the average number of cabinet
members around the world is 30 and Malaysia has now succeeded in
overcoming this.

Since the prime minister "likes it big", Kadir said, the people too are entitled to have big hopes.

"So our XXL hope is that Najib's XXL cabinet would bring XXL benefits for the people.

"It would be a shame if the XXL cabinet is only there to make up the numbers and not being productive," he added.- mk

Lawyer: What if it is your child, Najib...

Amid the raging debate over the contradictory judgments in interfaith
custody disputes, M Kulasegaran has asked the government to view the
issue from a human angle as well.

"Be fair to the mother," said the DAP MP and lawyer, who is representing
M Indira Ghandi in the legal tussle with her Muslim convert ex-husband
over the couple’s youngest child.

"Would the IGP, AG and the PM act differently if it was their child?" he asked.

In a statement today, Kulasegaran (left) once again took Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar to task over his stand regarding this matter.

Furthermore, he asked: "Do we have a home minister?"

The lawyer questioned why there were nom directions or statements from Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on the conduct of the police chief.

Kulasegaran said the police chief's "inconsistent and incorrect" conduct make it untenable for Khalid to hold the position.

"The IGP's refusal to act on the court order served on him is something
no average citizen can accept of a person holding the position as the
head of the police in this country," he added.

Although late, Kulasegaran said Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail is
finally getting involved in this intricate family disputes.

"It is a welcome move but whether he has any locus standi or otherwise,
we can be only know in the coming days when the court papers are served
on the parties.

"The present interfaith custody battles are nothing extraordinary. They
are private matters between private individuals. If the IGP carries out
his duties professionally, the issue would have been solved. Why should
the state intervene?" he added.

Lack of political will

Kulasegaran also pointed out that Malaysia could be the only country in
the world which is undergoing this supposedly difficult interfaith
custody issue.

"Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population, does not have this interfaith matters. Why?" he asked.

He said the government had formed a "toothless" high-level cabinet committee to address this interfaith issue way back in 2009.

"Other
than giving lame duck unenforceable guidelines, nothing has happened?
It boils down to the lack of political will on the part of the
government," he added.

As for Indira, the lawyer said court remedies would take years.

"Indira's battle started in 2009. Is it reasonable to now await for the AG's further action on this matter which may drag on?

"Indira's child was only 11-months-old when her ex-husband ran away with
the child. Indira was still breast feeding the child," he added. - mk

disclaimer

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